The conservation efforts of individual landowners are critical to ensure thelong-term survival of waterfowl and other wetland species on this continent.This bulletin is directed towards your efforts in wetlands restoration onprivate lands. Topics included are project goals, topography and soils, watersources, habitat types, maps and plans, permits, levees, water controlstructures, pumps, construction, insurance, and inspection.
Before you embark on your own individual crusade to develop wetlands, it isimportant to remember an important caution. Do not degrade more than yourestore!
Management of pristine habitats should be passive. With the extent of degradedor destroyed wetlands on this continent, restoration activities shouldconcentrate on these areas, rather than modifying natural wetlands that alreadyexist on your land. For example, do not attempt to create a duck brood habitatwhere quality seasonal wetlands exist, or in a viable salmon stream.
Unfortunately, well-intentioned landowners may implement intensive managementactivities within pristine habitats. These activities should be reserved forthe rehabilitation of degraded habitats. This bulletin will provide you withtools for restoration of degraded systems, where it is needed the most.
There are four basic elements that are necessary for development of waterfowlhabitat on private land: Land, Water, Equipment (or $), and Resources(know-how).
Make sure you have adequate supplies of each of these elements beforeproceeding with your wetland development. If you can meet these requirementsas they are described below, this guide can serve as a starting point for youto restore a wetland on private land to benefit waterfowl and other wetlandspecies.
Suitable land for wetland development is usually relatively flat. It must benear a source of water and have a suitable soil. Soils must be clay or mostlyclay to be sure that they will hold water. Your local Natural ResourceConservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) can provide free mapsthat describe the soil types in your area and their suitability for wetlands.
Figure 1.
Rainfall runoff may be captured or pumps may be installed to provide water foryour wetland. Some wetlands are built around natural springs, artesian wells,or pumped groundwater wells. Wetlands that do not require pumps are generallyless expensive to build and maintain than wetlands that require pumps. Beforeproceeding, identify what time of year your water source is available. Is thewater available year- round or in the summer only? Do you need to constructexpensive facilities, like pipelines and pumps, to bring the water to theproject? Are you willing to pay the maintenance and pumping costs for wetlandsthat must rely on pumps? Do you have the legal rights to the water? Youshould not proceed until you identify a water source near the property andobtain the legal rights to that water. What type of wetland system are youattempting to replicate? Seasonal wetlands, for example, may need to beflooded for only 2-5 months, during the rainy season.
You must be prepared to hire a contractor to develop the wetland or plan to dothe work with your own equipment. Most restoration projects require heavyconstruction or earth moving for berm and levee construction. This guide willhelp you select and monitor a contractor to do the work if you do not have theequipment available. You must be willing to invest money to construct thewetland, if you cannot do the work yourself.
This guide is a start towards developing wetland habitat on your land.However, you should be prepared to use resources such as your local NaturalResource Conservation Service (NRCS), local surveyors, engineers, andcontractors to assist you along the way. Developing a functional wetland canbest be done by getting the know-how from professionals who have done itbefore. Your ability to obtain permits and the overall success of the wetlandwill depend on the resources that you are willing to bring to bear on theproject. After reading through this guide, you should make a list of what youcan accomplish yourself and where you may need help, then go get that help!
Outline your habitat goals for the project. The wetland goals best suited foryour land will depend on when and how much water is available and thetopography of your land. The goals you select should also take into accounttypical rainfall flooding patterns in your area and the habitat that is mostlimited in your area. Discuss your goals with biologists from the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game (CDFG) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS). They can advise you on the most suitable wetland types forrestoration in your area.
Seasonal wetlands in the Central Valley of California are flooded in the wintermonths and allowed to dry completely in the summer. Seasonal wetlands aregenerally very shallow, usually no more than 18 inches deep, with average ponddepth being 4-8 inches. The shallow waters may be rich in invertebrates andseeds from moist soil plants. These wetlands provide critical foraging habitatfor migrating or wintering waterfowl. Construct seasonal wetlands if you haverelatively flat topography and a seasonal water supply.
Semi-permanent water can support broods of waterfowl and attract other wildlifeto your land. "Semi-permanent" refers to wetlands with water in themyear-round that can be drained for vegetation control or other maintenance.You may want to construct semi-permanent ponds if water is available all yearand if your topography is steeper. Semi-permanent brood ponds may be around2-6 feet deep. Shallower ponds will become choked with vegetation. Slopedgradients that yield some shallower water (0.5-2.0 feet) can provide foragingareas in portions of the wetland. Shallow ponds can be used as semi-permanentwetlands if you are willing to regularly remove the excess vegetation that willaccumulate.
You may want to construct seasonal wetlands, semi-permanent wetlands, ripariancorridors, streams, and other habitat types to create a mosaic of wetlands andassociated habitats. The principal design elements provided in this bulletincan be applied to more complex refuges. Remember, however, that you areembarking on a project that could involve quite a bit of time and expense. Itmay be better to start small and allow your private refuge to grow in severalphases. Consider working closely with your neighbors to provide a mosaic ofhabitat types within a 5-10 mile radius.
It is important to work with neighbors and demonstrate to local officials thatyou have a viable plan for your wetland project. A preliminary plan usuallyconsists of a discussion of your goals and a map of the project showingpossible wetland layouts.
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Figure 2.
You must convey your ideas to others by developing a map of the project. Yourplan will begin with a survey of ground elevations (Fig. 1). Your surveyshould result in a contour map with contour intervals of one foot or less (0.1- 0.5 feet is more desirable) (Fig. 2). If you are unfamiliar with surveyequipment, get help from the resources you identified at the start of theproject.
On copies of the contour map, sketch out your wetland. Consider the goals youidentified and remember that levees and water control structures are expensiveelements. Sketch several ideas on different copies and study them until youhave found one that economically reaches your goals. The design section ofthis guide provides information on how levees and other structures are built.Remember to select a water depth, duration of flooding, and the timing offlood-up to coincide with the habitat type that you selected for yourproperty.
A daunting task ahead of you now is obtaining all of the required permits. Youmust gather your information, maps, and plans and present the proposed projectto several agencies. The permits required vary depending upon site and projectspecifications. A good place to begin is at your county planning department.The planning department can instruct you on what type of environmentalassessment documents you may need to prepare. Allow several months at aminimum to complete all of the paperwork required. Do not despair. Manyprojects get approved, just be patient and try to work constructively with eachagency that is involved.
This section will present some of the rudimentary elements of wetland design.If you need assistance after reading this section, you may want to get helpfrom your engineering resources on the project. The NRCS can provide freeengineering assistance to help landowners design a wetlands project. The CDFGand USFWS also have biologists who are willing to provide advice.
After completing the survey work during the planning stage, select a designelevation at which you want the water surface to occur. Remember that themaximum water depth was determined when you selected a project goal. Figure 2represents an example preliminary design for a small wetland.
After you select the water surface elevation, you must determine a final leveeelevation. Build any long-term levees at least 1.0-1.5 feet higher than theelevation of your water surface (Fig. 2). The extra levee height is calledfreeboard and is necessary to protect the levee from water waves and to allowthe soil in the levee to settle over time. Ponds larger than a few acres mayrequire even more than 1.5 feet of freeboard because they will have largerwaves. An exception to this rule may be when larger wetlands are built inflood plains in which the levees are designed to go completely underwaterduring a major flood.
Although you may have received some data on soil types from the NRCS before youbegan, you should go out to the project and sample the soils at the site. Digseveral deep holes and make sure there are no hidden layers of sand under yourfields. Hidden layers of sand and gravel, once they are exposed, may allow allof your water to drain away. At least 2-3 feet of clay or clay-like soilsshould exist under your new wetland location.
Almost all wetland projects require construction of levees (Fig. 3). Youshould only construct levees from clay or clay-like soils that have very littleorganic material. Organic material includes plants and material that comesfrom plants like old grass clods, roots, and willow stems. Your levee materialshould have very little organic matter to make sure it holds water.
Levee top widths should be made 8-10 feet wide, if they are to be constructedwith scrapers. They may be as little as 4 feet wide if backhoes, draglines, orother excavating equipment will be used. If you are unsure, talk to severalcontractors in your area for advice on how your levee should be constructed.Do not construct levees with less than a four-foot top width because you willfind that rodents will burrow through and cause the levee to fail. Leveesshould be constructed with a 4:1 horizontal to vertical slope or shallower. A5:1 slope is recommended on most levees. When making your design, do notforget to include levee freeboard to protect them from waves.
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Figure 3.
Before building a levee, you must strip the organic material off the groundwhere the levee will be placed. Where deep rooted plants exist, you may haveto strip as much as 2 feet of soil to remove all organic materials. It is moretypical to remove 6-12 inches of material, however. Levee soil should then beplaced in 6-8-inch layers and thoroughly compacted using equipment such as asheepsfoot roller. It is very important to compact the soil to prevent leveesfrom simply washing away when the ponds are flooded.
Remember, you must move soil to create a levee and that soil is most likelygoing to come from somewhere on your project site. You should select a borrowsite so that your pond area is enlarged while being careful not to excavate toodeeply. You may create unsuitable habitat by excavating too deeply. Worseyet, you may break into a gravel or sand layer underground that will allow allof your water to escape. It is important that the contractor is instructed asto where he is going to get the soil for the levees and how deeply he may cutinto the ground.
Most restored wetlands will have a water control structure (Fig. 4) to allowwater into or out of the project. Good control structure designs will last formany years and allow you to vary the depth of water in your wetland. It isimportant to be able to drain completely the wetland to replicate seasonaldrying and to control undesirable vegetation. A corregated metal pipe withstandard flash board risers is the simplest and least expensive design. Wheninstalling the structures, it is important to thoroughly compact the soilsurrounding the pipe to prevent water from moving around the outside of thepipe. Failure to compact the materials or provide an anti-seep collar couldresult in the structure washing out. Contact the NRCS or other engineers forassistance if you are in doubt.
If your wetland will receive rainfall runoff or if you plan to capture thewater flowing in an existing stream or wash, you must determine the size of thewater control structure carefully. NRCS engineers have charts, tables, andequations that can assist you in determining how large your pipe and structuremust be and how much flow the structure must be able to carry. Manufacturers ofpipe and water control structures also can help you to determine the correctsize for your structure. Lastly, it is desirable to have more than one in-flowand out-flow structure in large wetlands to improve water circulation andreduce the risk of salinization or disease. Where flood flows may occur, anemergency spillway should be included in the design.
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Figure 4.Click here for 
Figure 5.
If you plan to use a pump or pump station for your project and are unfamiliarwith the design of pumps, you should get the advice of a professional engineerbefore proceeding. Mobile and sedentary pumps exist, but type, fuel, source,size, and models all differ. Pumps and pumping costs will increase the expenseof the system significantly.
At last you have reached the construction stage. This section providesrecommendations on how to negotiate with a contractor and protect yourself frombad contractors. If you have the equipment, you may wish to construct thewetland yourself. Be sure that you have excavating equipment such as abackhoe, for installing structures, and a sheepsfoot roller or other equipment,for compacting the soil in levees. Do not try to do the work yourself ifyou're not sure you have the proper equipment and the experience to use it.
Start by preparing a packet of information that explains what you want done onthe site. The packet should include maps of the site that show where you wantlevees and control structures. It also should include written instructions(specifications) that explain what type of control structures you want and howyou want them installed. You can get help from engineers or even somecontractors in preparing what you will now call the bid package.
Make copies of your bid package and distribute them to several differentcontractors. Invite each to come out and see the site and ask them to preparea cost estimate to do the work. If you are unsure about the integrity of acontractor, ask him if he is licensed and ask to see some other work that hehas done in your area.
If a contractor gives you a quote and asks you to sign it as authorization forhim to do the work, read the fine print closely. Your signature on that pieceof paper will be interpreted as acceptance of all the terms of his quote. Makesure that your contractor has committed to doing the work in accordance withyour written instructions and in a timely fashion. If you are in doubt aboutthe terms of your agreement with the contractor, take the time to sit down withhim and draw up a new agreement that suits you both.
On larger projects, it is important that you protect your money from dishonestcontractors and that you protect yourself from liability. Before you acceptbids from contractors, you may tell them that you are going to request a 100%performance bond on the project. The contractor will be expected to provideyou with a legal document from his bonding company. The document states thatif the contractor fails to complete the work, the bonding company will pay foranother contractor to complete the work for him. A bond is a guarantee thatthe work will be done for that price. You must tell the contractor how longyou will hold his bond after the project is complete. Typically, bonds areheld for several weeks or up to one year after the project has beencompleted.
Bonds cost money. If you require your contractor to post a bond, he willinclude the cost of the bond in his bid to you. Therefore, make no mistakethat you pay for this guarantee in the long run. Bonds probably are justifiedonly on larger projects.
All contractors should carry liability insurance. Ask your contractor toprovide a statement from his insurance company which outlines his coverage foraccidents and damage to property. Beware of any contractor that does not carryinsurance or who cannot provide a statement of insurance coverage.
Even if you have required a bond, insurance, and carefully explained what youwant done in the bid package, you should regularly inspect the contractor'sprogress. Every time you visit the project site you should keep notes of whatyou see happening. If you think the contractor is not following yourinstructions, tell him. Remember that he is working for you. Try not to beoverly critical of the contractor's work, however. Finished products arealmost always slightly different from the plans put on paper and the visionthat exists in your mind. You should be ready to accept minor changes as theyoccur, as long as the goal and intent of the project are not compromised.
On large projects, the contractor may ask that you pay him every month for theprogress he has made. You must go out to the site and discuss this progressand work out what you feel are equitable payments. You may discover that youwant something different or conditions on the project are not what you and thecontractor expected. If the contractor indicates that you are asking him to dowork that was outside the original agreement, you may have to alter youroriginal agreement with a change order. You and the contractor must negotiatea price on any work that was not covered in the original agreement. Because itis usually not practical to accept bids for this work, you must accept thecontractors word on the price (except in extreme cases). Of course, sometimeschanges in the work result in less effort by the contractor and then you canask him to reduce his price accordingly. It is usually better to avoid changeorders and try to document at the start of the project all of the work that youwant.
When the work is complete, you should provide the contractor a writtenstatement to that effect and pay him in accordance with your agreement. Beforeproviding that statement, walk around the site with the contractor and documentanything that was not done correctly. Make arrangements with the contractor tofix any problems. If you required a bond on the project, you may hold thatbond to make sure that the work was done correctly.
It is important to fill newly created impoundments slowly. Allow the leveesand structures to reach their operating condition over several days and observeclosely to be sure that all components are working as you expected. Manyrestored wetlands naturally revegetate very quickly. The day-to-day and annualmanagement of your newly created wetland will be the subject of other issues ofValley Habitats. You may want to obtain these guides and read them beforeproceeding with construction.
Charney, R.D., M.A. McEwen, D.H. Conners, F. Riesenberg IV, R.B. Krone, and G.Tchobanoglous. 1991. Interim Guidance Manual - Salt Marsh Restoration,Rehabilitation, and Creation Techniques for Caltrans Construction Projects.Volume I-IV. Caltrans Division of New Technology, Materials, and Research.429pp.
Ducks Unlimited, Canada. Managing Small Wetlands For Waterfowl, Amherst, N.S.and Fredericton, N.B. 16pp.
Fredrickson, L.H. and B.D Dugger. 1993. Management of Wetlands at HighAltitude in the Southwest. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,Southwest Region. 71 pp.
Fredrickson, L.H. and M.K. Laubhan. 1994. Managing Wetlands for Wildlife.Pages 623-647 in: T.A. Bookhout, ed. Research and Management Techniques forWildlife and Habitats. Fifth ed. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD.
Fredrickson, L.H. and T.S. Taylor. 1982. Management of Seasonally FloodedImpoundments for Wildlife. Resource Publ. 148. U.S. Fish and WildlifeService.
Heitmeyer, M.E., P.P. Connelly and R.L. Pederson. 1989. The Central,Imperial, and Coachella Valley of California. Pages 475-505 in: L.M. Smith,R.L. Pederson and R.M. Kaminski, Texas Tech Press, Lubbock, Texas.
Kelley, J.R. Jr., M.K. Laubhan, F.A. Reid, J.S. Wortham, and L.H. Fredrickson.1993. Options for Water-Level Control in Developed Wetlands. U.S. Fish andWildlife Leaflet 13.4.8.
Lokemoen, J.T. and T.A. Messmer. 1994. Locating, Constructing, and ManagingIslands for Nesting Waterfowl. The Berryman Institute, Logan Utah. 17pp.
Ringleman, J.K. 1991. Evaluating and Managing Waterfowl Habitat. Division ofWildlife, Colorado, Fort Collins. 46 pp.
U.S. Soil Conservation Service 1984. U.S. Soil Conservation ServiceEngineering Field Manual, U.S. Soil Conservation Service.
Prepared by: Robert Charney, Regional Engineer; James R. Well, RegionalEngineer; Andrew Engilis, Jr., Regional Biologist; Frederic A. Reid, RegionalBiological Supervisor; Paul Goebel, Engineering Technician; John Nagel,Regional Operations Supervisor, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Hofmann Foundation and WildlifeConservation Board provided the generous funding for this issue of ValleyHabitats.
Valley Habitats is produced by Ducks Unlimited's Western Regional Office.Items contained herein may be reproduced with permission. Copyright, DucksUnlimited, Inc., 1995.
Valley Habitats is published as part of Ducks Unlimited's VALLEY CARE Programto provide information to private land managers who wish to integrate wildlifemanagement into their existing
operations.
For more information regarding conservation related land management practicescontact: Ducks Unlimited, Western Regional Office, 9823 Old Winery Place, #16Sacramento, CA 95827 TELEPHONE: (916) 363-8257 FAX: (916) 363-9849